Rodgers accepts charge over referee comments

London: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has accepted a charge over comments he made about a referee following his side`s defeat at Manchester City last month, the Football Association announced on Wednesday.

Rodgers described the performance of referee Lee Mason and his officials during Liverpool`s 2-1 loss on December 26 as "horrendous" and questioned why a referee from Greater Manchester had been appointed to oversee the match. "Hopefully we won`t have a Greater Manchester referee with Liverpool-Manchester games in future," he said. "I was surprised we are playing in Manchester and have a referee from Greater Manchester. I am sure we won`t get for Liverpool-Man City someone from the Wirral (near Liverpool)." Rodgers was subsequently charged by the FA, which alleged that his comments questioned Mason`s integrity. The Liverpool manager is likely to be fined following a hearing, which he has decided not to attend. Rodgers later explained that he had been trying to make a valid point about how referees are assigned to matches in the Premier League. "In terms of geography, I certainly wasn`t questioning the integrity of referees," he said. "It was more the logic of it in terms of having a referee from that part of the world refereeing a game in Manchester. "I wouldn`t suspect that Mike Dean, from the Wirral, has refereed many games for Liverpool over the years."